9-19 May 2010 – Cost £3350 (including Deposit of £250)
Explore the Splendour of the Wall
The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world and a definite must see. Just like a colossal dragon the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching for around 4,163 miles from the east to the west of China. It has a history of more than 2000 years and is undeniably one of the most appealing man made attractions in the world, due to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.
Day 1: London Heathrow to Beijing
Today your adventure starts as you fly from London Heathrow to Beijing. Overnight in a central hotel.
Day 2: Beijing to Beidaihe
This morning you will travel from Beijing to Beidaihe by train. The scenery on this journey is breathtaking, and a great introduction to China. After a leisurely lunch we will drive onto Laolongtou. Laolongtou is the east end of the Great Wall by the sea and was originally built by General Xuda of Ming dynasty. We will begin walking along the wall, with the sea to the east and mountains to the west for 3 kms from Chenghailou Tower to Shanhaiguan Pass – the First Pass Under Heaven. If time permits we’ll continue to hike along the Great Wall from Shanghaiguan to the foot of Jiaoshan. Lunch and dinner included. Overnight at the 4* Hiasheng Garden Hotel.
Day 3: Jiaoshan to Sandaoguan
This morning, we drive to the foot of Jiaoshan for our hike to its peak. Just as its name implies in Chinese, Jiaoshan is like the horn of the dragon. On the top of Jiaoshan, we can see fabulous views of the whole eastern section of Great Wall. After Jiaoshan, we hike through some amazing scenery to reach a village by Sandaoguan – the trail end of our hiking today, before driving back to the hotel in Shanhaiguan. Full board. Overnight at the 4* Hiasheng Garden Hotel.
Day 4: Dongjiakou to Great Wall Village
We drive about 40 kms to Dongjiakou after breakfast. This section of the Great Wall has great historical significance as a stronghold. It is about 8.5kms long and can only be partially hiked.
There are 36 watch towers, 28 strongholds and 16 signal fire towers and the wall reaches some of it’s highest points at 556 meters. Amongst the signs of defense, there is an element of artistry.
General Qi Jiguang, governor of Fujian province, brought artisans here to emboss the arches. We will lunch with a local family today before hiking on to our end point, a village, where you will spend the night with a local family. Full board. Overnight home stay.
Day 5: Luweishan to Liujiakou
After breakfast, we drive 2 hours about 130kms to Luweishan, which means the hill of Deer Tail, named for its formation. This section of the wall is wilder and is known to locals as the Great Wall in the Water because of the waterfalls nearby. Built during 15th century it offers some of the best preserved sections of the Ming Great Walls, it’s thick vegetation giving the area a feeling of rarity for Northern China. We’ll be trekking to Liujiakou village then drive to our next hotel in Zunhua. Full board. Overnight at the 3* Zunhua International Hotel.
Day 6: Zunhua to Huangyaguan
We drive for 3 hours this morning to East Qing Mausoleum in Tianjin. The East Qing Mausoleums are about 330-year-old and constitute the largest Qing Dynasty imperial mausoleum complex in China. The mausoleums are well preserved in their original lay out and we’ll spend some time here before driving 1.5 hours to get to Huangyaguan Great Wall. Huangya, literally means “yellow cliff”, named after the yellowish hills and rocks nearby. It was originally built in Tianbao 7th of Beiqi (557 A D), repaired for the first time with bricks by the Ming Dynasty under the leadership of General Qi Jiguang. You will also have the opportunity to climb a small section of Huangyaguan on the western section of the wall. If weather permits, you will have the chance to see the breathtaking sunset over the yellow cliff – an amazing view from our hotel! Full board. Overnight Huangya Shanzhuang.
Day 7: Huangyaguan to Simatai
This morning, we drive about 20 minutes up to Taipingzhai village, where we start our 3-4 kms hike from Taipingzhai to Huangyaguan. After lunch, we drive to Simatai and hike the eastern section of Simatai Great Wall, known for its ruggedness. The construction of Simatai Great Wall started under the supervision of General Qi Jiguang in the early Hongwu years (1368-1398) of the Ming Dynasty. It is 5 km long with 35 watchtowers. Full board. Overnight Changcheng Shanzhuang.
Day 8: Hike from Simatai to Jinshanling After a hearty breakfast we will start our 12 kms hike westwards to Jinshanling. The Jinshanling Great Wall was initially built from 1368 to 1389, mainly directed by General Qi Jiguang. The 700 metre elevated Great Wall is about seven to eight metres high and about five to six metres wide. The Watching Beijing Tower is at the highest position and it’s reputed that you can see it’s namesake Beijing from here. Full board. Overnight Junshanling Binguan.
Day 9: Jinshanling to Jiankou
This morning we walk about 4 hours along the Great Wall from Jinshanling to Gubeikou. The fortifications here were built as early as 2,500 years ago and were constantly reinforced throughout the following dynasties. The main part of today’s Gubeikou Wall was constructed under the supervision of Xu Da, a noted general in the Ming Dynasty. It runs for more than 20 kilometers and consists of four sections: Wohushan, Panlongshan, Jinshanling, and Simatai. In the afternoon, we will arrive in Gubeikou town. From here we will drive on to Xizhazi village, along by Jiankou Great Wall. Jiankou makes up a large part of the wall and is well worth exploring. After checking into our home stay, we will take a short hike along this section of the wall. Full board. Overnight at home stay in Xizhazi Village.
Day 10: Jiankou to Beijing
After a hike on another section of Jiankou Great Wall we will drive up to Huairou town for a well deserved lunch. After this we will head up to Mutianyu Great Wall. The construction of this part of the wall took place in 1404 (the 2nd year of the Ming Yong Le reign). Construction continued when General Qi Jiguang was transferred to Jizhou in 1568 (the 2nd year of the Long Qing reign). In Mutianyu, we hike up to the peak of the mountain for some breathtaking views of the wall and its surroundings, before heading back down. Late in the afternoon we will be taken back to Beijing, which will take around three hours. Tonight is your last night in China, so we will have a farewell dinner to celebrate all you have experienced – a great chance to exchange stories too! Full board. Overnight in a central hotel.
Day 11: Homeward bound
Today you will have the morning to explore this fascinating city before heading to the airport for your flight home, full of memories of what will have been an awesome trip. Breakfast included.
Duration 10nights/ 11days
Price Includes Accommodation, meals and transfers as detailed in the itinerary, in country guide and a guide from Voyage Concepts, Great Wall Protection Fee
Price Excludes International flights, travel insurance (although we can organisethese for you), tipping of guides in country.
Trek details may be changed subject to circumstances
If you want to take part, and would like to pay for your deposit online, and have a PayPal account, you can do so via our Secure PayPal account, please choose your trek from the list below and follow the instructions. Thank you.
Recent Posts
Tag Cloud
Redventure Links
